Customer concerns over changes to Windows Vista licensing that would limit a transfer of the license to only one machine have moved Microsoft to revise the operating system licensing policy.

"Microsoft said today it has changed the retail license terms for Vista so that customers now may uninstall the OS from one machine and install it on another as many times as they want. The new terms do away with limitations on the number of new devices to which the license can be transferred.

When the new licensing was disclosed several weeks ago, power users who rebuild their computers with new components several times a year or who plan to upgrade their computers more than once in the lifetime of the OS raised a fuss. The change in policy will not affect consumers who purchase their Windows license pre-installed on a PC from a hardware manufacturer. No license transfers are allowed in those cases."